NJPW G1 Climax Night 16-19 Review, 8/8-12/8/18

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By TokyoWrestlingFan @twf87, Laura Mauro @LauraNMauro, Mike Grindle @MikeGrindle, Farhan Daw @FarhanDaw, 5MinuteWrestlingReviews @5MinWresReviews

The G1 Climax has finally come to an end after a sometimes gruelling but always entertaining nineteen shows.  Night Sixteen in Yokohama saw Tetsuya Naito take on SANADA in a Los Ingobernables showdown, then night seveteen and eighteen saw the final A Block and B Block matches, headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi.  The winners of the blocks then clashed on the final night to determine who would be the twenty eighth G1 Climax champion.  This week I asked some of my colleagues to answer some questions about their thoughts on the G1, which are included in this article.

G1 Climax Night Sixteen, Yokohama Cultutral Gymnasium, Yokohama (4,952 attendance)

Tomohiro Ishii def. Juice Robinson, 12:24

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hirooki Goto, 10:43

Tama Tonga def. Kota Ibushi, 14:17

Toru Yano def. Kenny Omega, 9:04

Tetsuya Naito def. SANADA, 19:52

The main news from night sixteen was that Naito won his match, and Kenny and Ibushi lost their respective matches, which meant that Naito and Kenny moved slightly ahead of Ibushi in the chances to win the block going into the final night of block matches.  The main event of Naito vs. SANADA was a very emotional match, and it was clear from the pre-match preparations that it meant a lot to SANADA.  He came close to winning, particularly with a bridging pin that had secured him victory against Zack Sabre Jr.  However, Naito was ultimately able to reverse an attempted Skull End into a Destino for a three count, and post-match Los Ingobernables de Japon reunited in the ring with a tribute to the injured Hiromu Takahashi.  Tama Tonga beat Ibushi in his match after a lot of interference from Tanga Loa, Fale, and Kenny.  The match featured another balcony moonsault from the Golden Star, who definitely seems like he’s getting ready to moonsault off something at the Budokan.  The interference from this match ran into Kenny’s match, as the match started with Kenny lying in the ring after a beating from the Firing Squad.  That match was also decided by Tama Tonga, who attacked Kenny during a ref bump, which allowed Yano to pick up a win.

In the lower part of the card, Ishii defeated Juice in an entertaining match that will presumably lead to a US Championship match at some point.  ZSJ continued to pick up wins with a victory over Goto, which again will presumably lead to a title match in the future.  At the end of night sixteen Kenny and Naito were tied on 12 points, Ibushi and ZSJ just behind them on 10 points, SANADA and Ishii on 8 points, Goto and Tama on 6 points, and Yano on 4 points.

 

G1 Climax Night Seventeen, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo (6,180 attendance)

Togi Makabe def. Michael Elgin, 8:46

YOSHI-HASHI def. Hangman Page, 10:22

Minoru Suzuki def. Bad Luck Fale, 8:51

EVIL def. Jay White, 11:36

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada went to a time-limit draw, 30:00

All eyes were on the match between Tanahashi and Okada as the G1 came to the Nippon Budokan for the first of three nights.  After Jay’s loss earlier in the night, a win for either competitor would have sent them through to the final, but in the end neither man could get the upper hand and the match finished in a time-limit draw.  The Budokan was heavily behind Tanahashi and the “Go Ace” cheers drowned out the support for Okada.  There were countless call-backs to their previous matches, including their match earlier this year at Wrestling Dontaku, when Okada had decisively dealt with Tanahashi.  This time around though, he was dealing with a different Tanahashi, who was on a great run of victories in the G1 this year, and Okada himself has been in a mental slump ever since he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Dominion.  There were some flashes of the old Okada in this match, including when he countered a High Fly Flow attempt with a dropkick, and when he hit a rolling Rainmaker on Tanahashi.  However, it was the former Ace who had the better of the match, and he came close to picking up a win with the rollup that had beaten YOSHI-HASHI and Elgin earlier in the tournament.  The bell rung at the thirty minute mark just after Tanahashi had gotten a close two-count from a High Fly Flow to Okada’s back, and it really seemed that Tanahashi would have won the match if he had more time.  As it was, a draw was good enough to send him through to the G1 Final as the winner of A Block.

Jay White entered night seventeen with the chance to cause an upset and get to the final due to holding tie-breaker victories over Okada and Tanahashi.  To do so however, required that Okada beat Tanahashi and he beat EVIL, both of which failed to materialise on the night.  Jay had several chances to win the match, but EVIL was able to overcome the low blows and ref bumps to hit an STO on White that Red Shoes counted for three after he recovered from a bump.  The match was decent, and the crowd definitely seems to have got behind the idea of Jay as a cheating heel more than they have the Firing Squad.  Jay’s loss to EVIL meant that the winner of the main event would go on to the final.  The draw maintained Tanahashi’s lead over Okada, and after the match he cut a promo promising to win the G1 this year.

The undercard matches saw Makabe and YOSHI-HASHI finish the tournament on a high when they picked up elusive wins.  The matches were good, but the match between Suzuki and Fale devolved into the usual Bullet Club shenanigans and ended with a disqualification.  The match started off interestingly, since Suzuki was crazy enough to go head-to-head with the Bullet Club’s cheating, but once again it fizzled out with a DQ.  Presumably there will be some kind of payoff tomorrow night or at the finals, but so far I’m not seeing much interest in this storyline.  A Block finished with Tanahashi as the winner with 15 points, Okada second on 13 points, Jay third with 12 points, then EVIL and Suzuki on 10, and Page, Fale, Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI and Elgin on 6 points.

 

G1 Climax Night Seventeen, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo (12,023 attendance)

Toru Yano def. Tama Tonga, 5:21

Juice Robinson def. Hirooki Goto, 10:36

Tomohiro Ishii def. SANADA, 17:00

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Tetsuya Naito, 18:17

Kota Ibushi def. Kenny Omega, 23:13

The second night of the tournament at the Budokan was focused on the question of who would advance to the final as the winner of B Block.  Kenny Omega was guaranteed a place in the final with a win, Naito had to win and hope for a Kenny loss, and Ibushi had the hardest route to the final needing a win over Kenny and a Naito loss to advance.  The semi-final match was a rematch from the New Japan Cup when ZSJ beat Naito to begin his shock run to cup glory.  This time around Naito looked to be more confident, especially given that his final hopes rested on defeating the English technician.  The match was very good – in keeping with both Naito and ZSJ’s tournaments this year – and there were a number of near finishes with Sabre’s submissions and roll-up attempts always threatening to snatch victory.  Naito had more knowledge about how to deal with ZSJ’s submissions in this match, and seemed to have the match won when he managed to escape an octopus hold and hit a Destino counter.  However, when Naito attempted a full Destino, Zack reversed it himself and hit a brutal looking Michinoku Driver (christened the Zack Driver by TAKA Michinoku) for a shocking three count.  The defeat meant that Naito was eliminated from contention as a potential B Block winner, and all eyes turned to the main event.

Ibushi and Omega hadn’t faced each other since 2012, back when they were both in DDT, and their decade-long saga as the Golden Lovers imbued this match with a huge deal of significance (very well explained by Laura Mauro in a recent article for dailyddt.com, which got a shout out from Kevin Kelly on this show).  It was striking that Kenny entered this match wearing a jacket and sunglasses akin to his days as The Cleaner, as if he needed to completely remove himself from the Golden Lovers before he could face Ibushi again.  Clearly both men were incredibly emotional going into this match, but once the bell rang they left all of that to the side and focused on the one thing that has defined their matches to this point – the question of whether Kenny could get the better of his partner.  Ibushi entered this match with a 2-0 head-to-head record, and as the only man to have kicked out of the One Winged Angel, but it was Kenny who took the early advantage in this match.  Kenny looked to hit the One Winged Angel quickly in the match, but Ibushi was able to counter it every time the IWGP Heavyweight Champion went for his finishing move.  As the match went on Ibushi was able to gain the upper hand, and hit a brutal looking standing moonsault that drove his knees into Kenny’s chest.  A Last Ride powerbomb and a Kamigoye seemed to have won the match for Ibushi, but Kenny somehow managed to get a shoulder up.  The sheer will to finally beat his partner drove Kenny onwards and he connected with some stiff V-triggers and a J Driller brought another close fall.  Finally Ibushi ended up on the top turnbuckle after he countered an attempted One Winged Angel, and when Kenny went up top he found himself the victim of a brutal double foot stomp to the back of the head.  A Tiger Driver from the top followed, and finally another Kamigoye, this time with the kneepad removed, ended the match and sent the Golden Star to the final as the winner of B Block.

The undercard matches finally saw some excitement around the Firing Squad, who had been warned that they would be banned for three months if they interfered in any matches on this show.  During Tama’s match with Yano, Fale and Tanga Loa came down to the ring and had to be restrained by NJPW officials including new President Harold Meij.  This was followed by Tama hitting the referee with a Gun Stun, which resulted in a DQ win for Yano.  Presumably they will now received a three month vacation. Juice and Ishii also finished off the tournament with wins, that meant that B Block finished with Ibushi as winner on 12 points with tiebreakers over Kenny, ZSJ, and Naito who also had 12 points, then Ishii on 10 points, SANADA on 8 points, and Juice, Tama, Goto, and Yano on 6 points.

 

G1 Climax Final, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo (12,112 attendance)

Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Kota Ibushi, 35:00

The final night of the G1 Climax featured some excitement in the undercard with GOD and Taiji Ishimori defeating Marty Scurll and The Young Bucks for the NEVER Six Man Tag Titles, and Rey Mysterio teaming with KUSHIDA and a mystery wrestler named Sengoku Enbu against Okada and Roppongi 3K.  However, the sold-out crowd at the Budokan were really there for the main event, which saw two of the most over babyfaces from this year’s G1 clash in the final.  Ibushi came into the match after a hard-fought victory over his partner Kenny Omega, who was his second, while Tanahashi had only managed a draw with Okada to get to the final.  He was surprisingly seconded by Katsuyori Shibata, who the crowd were delighted to see back.  When the bell rang to start the match, the crowd support for both men was absolutely deafening, but almost equally split between Tanahashi and Ibushi.

The match started off quite cagily between Tanahashi and Ibushi, who were both clearly aware of how momentous this match was.  Tanahashi targeted Ibushi’s knee throughout the match, particularly with the Texas Cloverleaf and Dragon Screws.  He was wearing his black Ace tights for this match, and certainly seemed comfortable attacking Ibushi’s knee in slightly heelish ways.  Both men put their high flying abilities on display with a High Fly Flow and a springboard moonsault to the outside, but it was notably their strike exchanges that stood out in this match.  Ibushi dealt out some absolutely savage strikes to Tanahashi, but they merely drove the Ace to ask for more, which seemed to rattle the usually unflappable Ibushi.  A first attempt at a High Fly Flow in the ring was countered by Ibushi, who proceeded to hit a vicious standing moonsault that drove his knees into Tanahashi’s chest, followed by throwing Tanahashi head-first into the turnbuckle.  Notably, Ibushi never managed to connect with a Kamigoye, but a Last Ride powerbomb and a straightjacket German suplex came very close to a three count.  Tanahashi finally gained the upper hand with a dragon suplex, and then hit a High Fly Flow to Ibushi’s back.  Unlike the match with Okada two nights previously, Tanahashi didn’t stop there, but followed up with another High Fly Flow on a standing Ibushi, and finally a third High Fly Flow for his third G1 victory.

After the bell rang Kenny and Shibata both entered the ring to check on their respective fighters, but while Kenny helped Ibushi with an ice-pack, Shibata hoisted Tanahashi on his shoulders for a victory lap.  Ibushi was clearly emotional after his loss, and when Tanahashi went to extend his best wishes to him he left the ring without responding to the Ace.  After he received the trophy and the G1 flag from five-time winner Masahiro Chono, Tanahashi told the crowd that he would carry New Japan on his back to the Tokyo Dome, and played himself out at the Budokan with a final air guitar to end the twenty eighth G1 Climax.

Final Standings

 A Block                                                                    B Block

Tanahashi Hiroshi – 15 pts.                                         Kota Ibushi, 12 pts.

Kazuchika Okada – 13 pts.                                          Kenny Omega, 12 pts.

Jay White – 12 pts.                                                     Zack Sabre Jr., 12 pts.

Minoru Suzuki – 10 pts.                                               Naito Tetsuya, 12 pts.

EVIL – 10 pts.                                                             Tomohiro Ishii, 10 pts.

Hangman Page – 8 pts.                                                SANADA, 8 pts.

Togi Makabe – 8 pts.                                                    Hirooki Goto, 6 pts.

Bad Luck Fale – 8 pts.                                                  Toru Yano, 6 pts.

YOSHI-HASHI – 6 pts.                                                  Tama Tonga, 6 pts.

Michael Elgin – 6 pts.                                                   Juice Robinson, 6 pts.

G1 Climax Questions

What was your favourite match of the tournament?

Mike Grindle – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

Farhan Daw – So hard but going to have to say Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi (very closely followed by Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi)

5 Minute Wrestling Reviews – Though there are a handful of matches here that could take the bill, such as Ishii/Omega, Okada/Tanahashi, Tanahashi/Ibushi, or Ibushi/Ishii, I have to go with the Golden Lovers showdown. Omega and Ibushi put on a show, and the crowd atmosphere and commentary added more to an already incredible match.

Laura Mauro – A three-way tie between Ishii/Omega, Omega/Ibushi and Ibushi/Tanahashi

TokyoWrestlingFan – I think I have to go with Ishii vs. Omega, with honourable mention to Ibushi vs. Tanahashi and Ishii vs. Goto

Who was the standout performer of the G1?

Mike Grindle – Tomohiro Ishii

Farhan Daw – Kota Ibushi

5 Minute Wrestling Reviews – Tomohiro Ishii was the standout performer for me, as I had him having a 4 star match with everyone except Yano and Tonga. I also had him having 5 star matches with Ibushi, and Omega which will both likely finish in the top 10 matches of the year. The Stone Pitbull needs a belt around his waist, and soon.

Laura Mauro – In the ring, unquestionably Ishii. In terms of breakout stars, Jay White has shown some superb character development and his future looks bright.

TokyoWrestlingFan – Tomohiro Ishii

Are there any wrestlers you want to see in next year’s tournament that weren’t in this year?

Mike Grindle – Looking only at guys who could realistically be in next year’s tournament, I wouldn’t mind seeing David Finley, Cody or Jeff Cobb make the tournament next year.

Farhan Daw – Naomichi Marufuji + Katsuhiko Nakajima + Kenoh (NOAH)

5 Minute Wrestling Reviews – I would enjoy seeing an outsider come in, as I think that could spice up some matchups. Jeff Cobb is a guy I could see doing well here. Cody also could benefit from going against some guys he has never faced in singles action, and that could help his in ring work a lot. On the Japanese front I think Henare could be someone that would be fun.

Laura Mauro – Satoshi Kojima. Hiromu Takahashi must be ready to make the move from junior heavyweight soon.

TokyoWrestlingFan – If I could choose anyone in the world Daisuke Sekimoto from Big Japan, WALTER, and Pentagón Jr. would be three people I’d love to see in the G1.  More realistically speaking, I think Taichi was robbed this year and Henare would be a good addition.

What was your opinion on the Firing Squad/Bullet Club story?

Mike Grindle – I tried to keep an open mind when it came to the firing squad going into this G1, and I didn’t mind the shenanigans that much early on. However, things got to a point though where the Fale and Tama matches became the toilet break matches, because you already knew how things were going to go down. The storyline has potential, especially with the New Japan president getting involved now as well, but in the G1 setting it was overkill.

Farhan Daw – I’m 100% behind Tama Tonga. The Bullet Club should not have internalised a ‘Super’ Sub Group when it goes against the original code of the Bullet Club. With changes to members over the years, the group’s personal is different but its identity should remain the same and that tradition lives through Tonga and Fale. I also see the Bucks very much as Bullet Club original members seeing as they joined only months after the group was established. The issue is they have repeatedly shown allegiance to ‘The Elite’. I love the Elite and newly formed Golden Elite but for the sake of Bullet Club there needs to be order. The likes of Chaos, LIJ and Suzuki-Gun are benefitting from the Civil War. They can have their subgroups, sure, but when performing they should all be under the Bullet Club Banner. Therefore I’m hoping for a solution rather than a break up. I see The Tongan’s and Bucks as the core of Bullet Club and so personally an ideal solution would be for them + Omega to resolve their differences, especially seeing as this is all a difference in opinion about what’s best for the BC. #Fuckem

5 Minute Wrestling Reviews – I feel that if the Firing Squad antics were just in one block it would have been more easily tolerated. Since it happened night after night though in both Fale’s, and Tonga’s matches it got old quick. I understand garnering some heel heat, but it just made me not look forward to their matches. Guess they did their job though!

Laura Mauro – Became tired of it very quickly. Unquestionably good heel work on Tama’s part, but I felt that it threatened to overshadow the actual event, and the sheer frequency of interferences and interruptions became frustrating quickly.

TokyoWrestlingFan – I was interested at San Francisco, but quickly became bored during the G1.  There were some good moments, like Tama Tonga getting into a fan altercation, and then new president Harold Meij getting involved, but overall Tama and Fale’s matches were boring and predictable.  The anti-authority element I think is a good addition to the storyline, because I don’t really care too much about the Bullet Club infighting anymore.

Do you think the G1 winner will win the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom 13?

Mike Grindle: While winning the G1 was a great moment for Tanahashi, ultimately his winning the tournament is simply to put someone else over (most likely Omega) in the Tokyo Dome main event.

Farhan Daw – It’s very hard to bet against Hiroshi Tanahashi, I’m still very unsure. I have a feeling however when its all said and done, Kenny Omega will remain Champion on 4th January 2019.

5 Minute Wrestling Reviews – I think Omega will stand tall after an epic battle with Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Laura Mauro – Tanahashi will be defending his contract against Okada and Jay White, but I don’t think Okada/Omega will happen again so soon (it’s time for something different) and Jay White isn’t ready to take that leap. As to whether Tanahashi will beat Omega….I still think Ibushi will be the one to take Kenny’s title.

TokyoWrestlingFan – Honestly speaking, I think that Kenny will win at Wrestle Kingdom 13.  However, there’s an outside chance that Tanahashi will win if Kenny has decided not to re-sign with New Japan, since his contract would expire around the end of January I believe.

Final Thoughts

Nineteen shows of the twenty-eighth G1 tournament have been and gone, and for the third time Hiroshi Tanahashi stands tall as the G1 Climax champion.  He has said that he will defend his contract against Kazuchika Okada and Jay White, which could possibly lead to a change in the Wrestle Kingdom main event, but assuming it doesn’t then we know that we have a match between The Ace and The Best Bout Machine to look forward to.  This year’s tournament had some great matches, but overall I don’t think it lived up to the highs of last year’s tournament.  B Block was absolutely stacked with talent, and they put on some amazing matches, but A Block was a bit of a slog to get through.  New Japan could have done a better job of balancing out the blocks, but some of the matches between Ishii, Kenny, Naito, and Ibushi were phenomenal, to say nothing of ZSJ and SANADA who put in some excellent work.  SANADA and Hangman Page definitely raised their stock during this tournament, while ZSJ continued to prove that his New Japan Cup run wasn’t a fluke – finishing with more points than his faction leader Suzuki.  The A Block final, B Block final, and G1 Final were great matches, particularly the uncertainty over whether Tanahashi or Ibushi would walk out as winner of the whole thing.  The Bullet Club internal strife didn’t really work as New Japan had hoped, but at least the newly added involvement of NJPW management as a foil for the Bullet Club OGs should make things more interesting.  Overall though, there were some truly great matches in this tournament, which is what will be remembered.  Now on to a well deserved break before the New Japan tours start up again in September with Road to Destruction and Tanahashi defending his contract, as well as Kenny defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii.

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